DOOMTOWN: THE ATOMIC ART OF DOUG WATERFIELD OPENS SATURDAY AT THE STRATEGIC AIR & SPACE MUSEUM

Exploring the paranoia of the atomic 1950s and 60s in America, Doug Waterfield’s exhibit, titled Doomtown, is on display now through March at the Strategic Air & Space Museum.

“Doug’s paintings draw you into an age of optimism, technological advances and unmitigated paranoia”, said Michael Sibbernsen, science & technology coordinator at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. “Doomtownis a great complimentary exhibit to our current Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965 exhibit which opened only a few short weeks ago. It features a series of oil and acrylic paintings which illustrate our society in the decades following World War II.”

Waterfield is chair and an associate professor in the University of Nebraska at Kearney Department of Art and Art History. He will be present at the opening on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Strategic Air & Space Museum.

According to Waterfield, Doomtown depicts the phenomenon of atomic culture and the intense psychological symbol of the mushroom cloud.

“The entire issue of the use of the atomic bomb is extremely complex,” Waterfield said. “Were it not for the deterrent of the bomb, World War II would not have ended as it did.”

Waterfield said that through his research he learned that casinos in Las Vegas would host rooftop “viewing parties” to watch the bombs go off.

“The juxtaposition of the mushroom cloud over the glitz and glamour of Sin City became one of my favorites, a symbol of excess as well as the height of atomic culture,” Waterfield said.

In 2011, The works were exhibited at the National Nuclear Science Museum in Albuquerque, N.M. The Doomtown series will also be exhibited at the Cold War Air Museum in Lancaster, Texas, in the summer of 2013, and at the Museum of Nebraska Art (MONA) in the summer of 2014.

About Doug Waterfield – Doug Waterfield is an Arkansas native currently residing in Nebraska with his family. He is an associate professor art at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. His work has been shown nationally for the past 25 years.

The Strategic Air & Space Museum – located between Lincoln and Omaha near Interstate 80, utilizes over 300,000 square feet of exhibit, education, and event space to ignite the thrill of discovery and innovation in guests of all ages. Organized in 1959, the original mission of the museum was to commemorate the contributions of the Strategic Air Command, which until 1992 was headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base. The museum moved to its current location in 1998 upon completion of a new indoor facility. The museum houses an impressive collection of military aircraft and space artifacts, many of which have been restored in the museum’s on-site restoration facility. To better serve the community, the museum has recently established a partnership with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Office of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Education to provide cutting-edge educational opportunities for students, teachers, families and adult learners. Traveling exhibits, permanent exhibits and a variety of special events provide additional unique experiences for the museum’s members and guests.